Correction: The conversation between Jude Law and F. Murray Abraham takes place in the 1960s, not the 1980s.

We referred to the historic Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C. as a visual reference for this film. According to Wikipedia, two real hotels in Hungary and the Czech Republic were influences, as well as archive images from the Library of Congress.

Alas, my epidemiological French vocabulary isn’t what it used to be… Grippe is the French word for influenza, not measles.

The term “bellhop” does indeed come from a slightly demeaning etymology. “Hop to it, I rang a bell” is an accurate summary of its origins.